Jerry Twombly - Funding Your God Given Vision Through Relational Development

Summer "Breakfast Club" Interviews

You'll not want to miss the 2012 Summer Edition of Breakfast Club.

This free weekly webinar occurs every Monday morning at 10:30 AM (New York Time).   Current development topics are addressed, new ideas that have enabled nonprofits to grow are shared, and inspiring interviews with people from around the world who are making a difference.

Each week this summer we will be featuring an intriguing special guest that will share about their work, provide some important insights, they will inspire, and encourage.  Here's just a taste:   Dr. Victor Titatarchuk from Kiev, Ukraine will talk about the latest in development software,  former NFL player Grant Williams will join us to talk about his outreach ministry to athletes, Tim Kersten, President of Stratmark, one of the nation's premiere direct response marketing companies will talk about new trends in communication, Guy Richards, president of Abiah will add exciting new insights about how to bring recognition to your work through creative branding, Greg Ring, one of America's leading estate planning experts, will show us how to raise money through planned giving, and former Focus on the Family Vice President, Steve Maegdlin will give us insights on how we can better posture our organization for success.   And that's just the beginning, we'll have Dana Simons, CEO of BGW 21st Century Solutions, attorney David Sims on how to creatively finance your ministry needs, and Robbie Randolph from the Davis Foundation. 

It's going to be a great summer and you'll not want to miss one Breakfast Club.   If you don't receive Breakfast Club registraiton information, simply text BC to 32020 to get reminders each week of the "guest of the week" and the webinar registration link.

The Best of Europe

I'm beginning the journey home.  Sitting in the airport here in Budapest, I've been taking the time to reflect on a most incredible week.

I arrived from the United States on Friday afternoon.  On Saturday I spent four hours ministering to a group in a Pre-Forum seminar on Transforming Culture: The Church at Work in the World.  This intensive seminar was based on a book of the same title I wrote several years ago.  The principles included in the book provided a unique opportunity to share together, learn from one another, and discover together the significant role the church can have in communities where they minister.

Over 600 people crowded into the hotel on Saturday afternoon and evening for the beginning of the annual leadership event.  On Sunday morning we worshipped together and all the networks and workshops commenced.  I had a most divers group of participants enrolled in my network titled Organizational Development.  I worked hard trying to remember names but finally ended up with leading statements like, "Let's hear now from Bulgaria!"   It became somewhat common to refer to individuals as Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Norway, Ukraine, Belgium, and Hungary.  

I'm not sure all what heaven will be like but this had to be a small taste of what is to come.  Different people from all over the world, all one in Christ, and all passionate about using their gifts to reach their worlds.  Such sweet fellowship as we delved deep in investigating core concepts to help build and grow ministries of impact. 

Their were workshops every day, mentorings sessions every meal, and a final visit with a key person every evening over an ice cream sundae at McDonalds.   The Forum has ended but the memories remain and the impact of what God has done this week will be seen in years to come. 

Growing Together, Praying Together

The European Leadership Forum is a four-day intensive training program for ministry leaders from around the world.  It's a "by invitation only" event which focuses on CEO's, Executive Directors, and other leaders who direct ministries. 

The heart of the Forum is the networks.   There are 21 of them this year that focus on key topics of interest to leaders.  Each network is led of one of several who make up the international faculty for this annual event. Some of the networks include: 
Apologetics, Church Planting, Christian Counseling, Politics and Society, Youth Leadership, a network for theologians, scientists, philosphers, and those involved in discipleship ministries.  The network I have led each year for the past ten years at the forum focuses on Organizational Development.   The students in my network are from Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Belgium, Ukraine, and Norway.

There are plenary sessions where all 600 particiapnts gather for inspiration and prayer.  Here's a picture of just one of scores of small prayer groups meeting in the large auditorum.   Together the come before the Lord and plead for their ministries, their countries, and those among them who share in the passion to make a kingdom difference. 

 

Hi, I'm from . . .

This is the week. It's the one week I look forward to each year.  It's my tenth consecutive year being one of the teaching faculty at The European Leadership Forum.  

It's like a homecoming.  When I walked out of the Budapest airport yesterday, I was met by someone with a sign with bold letters: EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP FORUM.  I was directed to an area near an airport coffee cafe.  Immediately I bumped into friends from previous forums.  In one corner I saw Lars Dahle, the president of Gimlekollen College in Kristinsand, Norway.  Lars appeared to be in the midst of a intense phone call and looked up and waved.  Shortly thereafter I bumped into Richard Cunningham, the president of the UCCF, the campus ministry organization in the United Kingdom.  Other old friends had just flown in and together, some thirty of us, boarded a coach that would drive us to Eger, the small Hungarian community in the heart of the wine country some two hours from Budapest.

When we arrived at the Hotel Eger there were scores of others just checking in.   There was a faculty dinner scheduled later in the day and time to settle in for one of the most extraordinary weeks of my year.  Sitting at the breakfast table this morning there were old and new friends that stopped by.   I enjoyed breakfast with Nik and Grace Nedelchev, long-time friends from Bulgaria.  Another joined us from the Netherlands, then one after another people would drop by saying, "Hi, I'm from Russia" and others representing a host of countries from around the world.  

Won't you pray for this week for all that will transpire here?  God is using this extraordinary event to change this part of the world.  

Back Home Again in Indiana

We have had a tradition in our family for many years.  Whenever we arrive back in our home state we sing "Back Home Again in Indiana."   It's an Indiana tradition and if you've ever watched the Indianapolis 500 you've heard Indiana native, Jim Nabors, sing it before the beginning of the race.

Last night when the plane touched down at 7:30 PM at Indianapolis International Airport I celebrated the completion of my 24 hour journey from Russia.  What a glorious week it was.   Imagine being surrounded by a large group of former drug addicts, many of whom had been in prision, and all of whom have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus.   These are people who know what it means to be held in sin's grip and have experrienced deliverance as only can be found in relationship with Christ.

I had the joy of worshipping with them on Wednesday evening.   The service was led by the local pastor who also serves as a bishop to a network of churches near the city of Samara.   We had lunch together earlier in the day and I heard his story of redemption, how he had been in prison for a total of nearly 10 years, found Christ jammed in a small, windowless room, where he "lived" with nearly 100 other inmates, and where he invited Christ in his life.   Today he is married with two lovely children and is reaching thousands with the message of Christ's love.

Can you even imagine a better week than this?   When you see fresh, "first love" for Christ, passionate faith, selfless service, and absolute confidence that God can change anyone and anything you walk away humbled that God would even allow you such an incredible privilege to be surrounded by such faith giants.  Meet the bishop and his family!

Paying It Forward

What an incredible week for me. 

For two full days I had the opportunity of teaching an incredible international team of workers serving in the area of drug and alcohol rehabilitation in Russia and eastern Europe.   Most of those in attendance came to know Christ recovering from their own addictions, some had spent time in prison, and all have a deeply rooted passion to take what they have learned and pass it on to others.   Their love for God was contagious, their commitment to serve was overwhelming to me, and their passion to serve humbling. 

It's times like these that force me to reflect on the immensity of God's grace I have received that too often I take for granted.  This week I met a whole host of people who earn little but have great faith.  They've chosen to forsake everything to serve others, a commitment I take far too lightly. 

God's at Work in Samara

I have the joy this week of speaking at an international conference of Christian organizations committed to providing support and help to those experiencing drug and alcohol addictions in the Russian city of Samara. 

What an extraordinary time.  Samara is the center of automobile manufacturing in Russia.   Located about 600 miles southeast of Moscow, the city is located on the Vulga River.  Rolling hills dot the landscape and the foliage must be magnificent in autumn.   

The fellowship of scores of organizations ministering throughout Russia and eastern Europe has been extraordinary.  I spoke nearly 10 hours yesterday and wouldn't have traded the opprtunity for anything.  I came to help them raise resouces and expand their ministry.   They have such vision and faith.   I will leave on Thursday morning blessed for such an incredible opportunity to share with these unbelievable people.

Breakfast Club Videos

Check it out, the Breakfast Club weekly recording is now available in a video format.   You can see the slides while listening to the narrative and can do it at your convenience.  Check it out and share your comments.

Building Community

We speak a lot in development about the things we do to generate ongoing support for our organizations.   There are projects to which we commit ourselves, programs that provide a variety of options wherein people can plug into our work, activities we manage each year, and events that we celebrate as we pass critical milestones. 

But alone, none of these things will achieve their full "developmental potential" without a corresponding effort to create vibrant communities of people who can demonstrate their interest and exercise their gifts in partnering with you in acconmplishing your mission. 

The Breakfast Club session on April 2, 2012 focused on why communities are important, how to create them, and some very practical advice on how to sustain them.   It's worth taking 40 minutes of your time to review.   The link "Building Communities" can be found in the Podcast section of this blog page. 

Yad Vashem

Last week I returned from a week with The Churches Mission to Jews (www.cmj-israel.org) in Jerusalem.  We spent three-days in meetings planning an elderhostel program for those individuals and groups who would prefer a prolonged stay when visiting to Israel to study and delve into the riches of this marvelous country.

On the last day of my trip, I took time to visit Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum in Jerusalem.   I have walked through several concentration camps in Europe and had visited the beginnings of this museum when touring Israel over two decades ago.   Yad Vashem is by far the most comprehensive I have seen with room after room detailing one of the world's greatest tragedies.  The timeline begins in the early 1930's and traces the story to the point where survivors were librerated at the end of the second world war.   Pictures, news clips, and interviews with survivors make the event very personal.

A separate section of the museum featured holocaust art.   The picture below was recovered from a concentration camp where it's creator was killed.  The picture depicts the environment in which he found himself and the butterfly sitting atop the barbed wire a striking reminder of what freedom is all about.  The painting gripped me and I couldn't stop looking at it as I tried to comprehend how the artist must have felt in giving such brilliant color to such a dark time.